Rams snare starlet’s signature

Teenage sensation Lewin Nyatanga has committed his future to Derby County.

Derby manager Phil Brown told his club’s official website: ‘We’ve put pen to paper and secured Lewin’s future for the next two-and-a-half years, which is the maximum we can do by league rules.

‘It is great news for the club to see a young man plying his trade in the first team, and it is good for the rest of the young lads to look at and see that the chance is there.

‘He doesn’t seem to be phased by anything.

‘It is fabulous to have him around, and hopefully he will become a corner-stone of the back four for a long time to come.’

Nyatanga said: ‘I’m very proud to have signed this contract and to have committed my immediate future to Derby County.

‘I’ve been at this football club since the age of eight and have worked hard for this day. I think it is a reward for what I’ve put in but I also owe a lot to my family and to everyone at the club’s academy, because without them this wouldn’t have happened.

‘It’s been a whirlwind year, what with playing for Wales Under-21s at the age of 16, playing my first senior Derby game against Grimsby, and everything that’s happened since then.

‘But this is just one of the steps on my career ladder and I believe that if I keep working hard I’ll continue to achieve things. I want to play football at the very highest level.’